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[WIP] Lockheed Martin's F35B Lightning II STOVL

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Its not actually leaving "dents" because the engine is not actually capable of STOVL takeoff without the AB and its exhaust is too hot so it softens the thin decks of the LHDs.

The aircraft now actually weighs more than the engine was designed to lift. So when the F-35B is actually loaded (Full fuel and weapons) it needs to use the first stage of the AB and 45 degree angled thrust to get off the short deck of the USMC LHDs. And when it lands the AB is rules-restricted (ie cannot be engaged in the hover mode) so they run the engine near 100% which is rather hot. Unlike the Harrier with a much bigger compressor area the F-135 engine as to run hotter and faster to generate enough lift.

http://news.usni.org/2014/01/15/sna-2014-heat-f-35-mv-22-continue-plague-big-deck-amphibs

http://ukarmedforcescommentary.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/does-it-melt-decks-or-not.html

Basically it is cooking the surface and causing it to flake and break much faster than the Harrier it replaces. Then annealing the underlying metal making it softer and therefore reducing the life of deck... its a bit costly to replace. The nice thing about the Harrier's exhaust was that the engine ran relatively cool which made small deck operations a lot safer. There are lots of stories of deck crew getting blown off the deck into the safety nets with nothing but embarrassed faces. Last I read its another 100-200C at idle over the Harrier I believe so instant burns compared to a scolding. I can only imagine what would happen if you tried to walk so close to the F-35 as you can with the Harriers.

Interesting though isn't it.

Yes it is, hopefully they will fix that though :)

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Yes it is, hopefully they will fix that though :)

Short of using a new hardened deck material there is nothing they can do. The flaw is the aircraft design. Its just much heavier than was originally planned and the F-135 engine is not able to produce the thrust at lower power settings. If the F-35 could have made its intended weight it might not suck so much at dog fighting too :)

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Short of using a new hardened deck material there is nothing they can do. The flaw is the aircraft design. Its just much heavier than was originally planned and the F-135 engine is not able to produce the thrust at lower power settings. If the F-35 could have made its intended weight it might not suck so much at dog fighting too :)

We may be getting off-topic here but my last words are that they may have to change the engine if it's causing that, maybe modify the F-35 with nozzles kinda like the F-22's then to limit the burning.

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We may be getting off-topic here but my last words are that they may have to change the engine if it's causing that, maybe modify the F-35 with nozzles kinda like the F-22's then to limit the burning.

That would not work...the physics don't make sense. The only way to change the heat output would be to slow the engine down and then increase the compressor size to compensate for the reduction in thrust. Basically completely redesign the aircraft to cope with the new engine.... you'll end up with something like the Pegasus and the Harrier.

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Can you add a IRL feature where the gun doesn't work and it can't hold the MK82

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Can you add a IRL feature where the gun doesn't work and it can't hold the MK82

The F-35 is often applied with GBU-12's rather than a MK-82. I think the F-35B doesn't even support MK-82 Bombs

Edited by PlasmaWerewolf

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on a scale from 1 to 10, how much done is the mod yet? Dont want to urge you, randomslap. ;)

I'd say about 5 from completing everything. I think I will release this when it has most of it's necessary features. That will exclude other skins. My main priority is to get the DAS feature and the different engine modes. It will take awhile for this mod to get released because I am heavily busy outside my home.

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Good thing with the engine mode's though make it feel authentic / realistic. Any pictures for us to see?

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Don't worry the real thing isn't even 10/10 yet

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Don't worry the real thing isn't even 10/10 yet

True that, and people are already judging it and its STILL in testing...

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True that, and people are already judging it and its STILL in testing...

Its mainly because of all the problems the B and C is having, especially with the PAK FA and i guess to some extent the Chengdu J-20 and 31 (though the Chinese haven't shown anything to worry about) rivaling it Lockheed cant really afford to make any mistakes

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Its mainly because of all the problems the B and C is having, especially with the PAK FA and i guess to some extent the Chengdu J-20 and 31 (though the Chinese haven't shown anything to worry about) rivaling it Lockheed cant really afford to make any mistakes
Worse yet, the J-20 and J-31 are probably not influencing PLAN/PLAAF budgets to the extent that the F-35 program has USAF/USN budgets...

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And yet the problem with the B on carrier's, it's damaging the deck with the engine, both Lockheed Martin and Pratt and Whitney need to stop this by changing the engine or working a way around it or improve the carriers decks which is most likely not to happen due to the costs and maintenance it'd need and put the USMC with barely any aircraft. Another thing though is if the F-35 will even make it, because the external gun pod is gonna take like 10 years to program. Cant they just do the gun like on the F-22 instead of a huge thing sticking out? well just then i'm talking fashion wise for the F-35. Come on an aircraft needs fashion!

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Cant they just do the gun like on the F-22 instead of a huge thing sticking out?
The -A got an internal gun, though I have no idea why the -C's isn't.
well just then i'm talking fashion wise for the F-35. Come on an aircraft needs fashion!
Cynical statement: "military hardware needs fashion" probably explains some of Arma 3's vehicle decisions.

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And yet the problem with the B on carrier's, it's damaging the deck with the engine, both Lockheed Martin and Pratt and Whitney need to stop this by changing the engine or working a way around it or improve the carriers decks which is most likely not to happen due to the costs and maintenance it'd need and put the USMC with barely any aircraft. Another thing though is if the F-35 will even make it, because the external gun pod is gonna take like 10 years to program. Cant they just do the gun like on the F-22 instead of a huge thing sticking out? well just then i'm talking fashion wise for the F-35. Come on an aircraft needs fashion!

Honestly, I wouldn't see how they would accomplish that. The reason why the B has so much heat/power is because it needs it for it's operational purposes. If they were to fix/change the engine, it would make the F35B useless in the STOVL category. So it would be wise to change or reinforce the decks on the carriers. The external gun is most likely the only way for the F35B to have one. Due to all STOVL components there is not enough space to put one in unless if they change the design. However, if they do change the whole fuselage, it would need to go through another decade of testing. Overall the F35s are a big pain to deal with in real life, but they are some bad ass aircrafts in my opinion. BTW I have no new pictures to show because I am busy helping the USAF mod and it's final touches. I will get back on track around May and I hope I can release this sometime during the summer season.

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Honestly, I wouldn't see how they would accomplish that. The reason why the B has so much heat/power is because it needs it for it's operational purposes. If they were to fix/change the engine, it would make the F35B useless in the STOVL category. So it would be wise to change or reinforce the decks on the carriers. The external gun is most likely the only way for the F35B to have one. Due to all STOVL components there is not enough space to put one in unless if they change the design. However, if they do change the whole fuselage, it would need to go through another decade of testing. Overall the F35s are a big pain to deal with in real life, but they are some bad ass aircrafts in my opinion. BTW I have no new pictures to show because I am busy helping the USAF mod and it's final touches. I will get back on track around May and I hope I can release this sometime during the summer season.

They really should remove the STOL, its more hassle then its worth, due to the giant fan and the unnecessarily big internal storage the fuel tanks are really small meaning it can provide support for infantry for (i believe its 2) hours before having to RTB for refueling

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Problem is that without the STOVL there's no point to having the -B.

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Honestly, I wouldn't see how they would accomplish that. The reason why the B has so much heat/power is because it needs it for it's operational purposes. If they were to fix/change the engine, it would make the F35B useless in the STOVL category. So it would be wise to change or reinforce the decks on the carriers. The external gun is most likely the only way for the F35B to have one. Due to all STOVL components there is not enough space to put one in unless if they change the design. However, if they do change the whole fuselage, it would need to go through another decade of testing. Overall the F35s are a big pain to deal with in real life, but they are some bad ass aircrafts in my opinion. BTW I have no new pictures to show because I am busy helping the USAF mod and it's final touches. I will get back on track around May and I hope I can release this sometime during the summer season.

I read up that they aren't going to reinforce the decks on carriers. But I dunno why, it's a good idea but temporarily put the carriers out of service. And it'd probably to much to do but all we can do is sit around and post comments on here XD

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Burnin the LHD deck :P I'll post more pictures when I start working on this aircraft again.

2015-04-01_00003_zpskqul8btx.jpg

---------- Post added at 23:08 ---------- Previous post was at 22:52 ----------

I am also focused on the cockpit as of right now. I have decided to use some content from Olli's F35C, but not as much. I plan to focus on the functionality of the MFD screen for the cockpit and the DAS system for the helmet w/ NVGs in the helmet. My main goal for this project is to recreate the realistic features that the actual F35B has.

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I hope someone makes a RAF skin for this, nobody has made a British fighter yet

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I hope someone makes a RAF skin for this, nobody has made a British fighter yet

I believe there is the Euro-fighter typhoon but from what I know of that weird looking thing it's used by NATO.

---------- Post added at 22:42 ---------- Previous post was at 22:41 ----------

Oh yeah randomslap if you aren't gonna release it for a while why don't you put a download link for what you have currently done? I am so bored without dat beauty. :(

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